Colm Brophy: Don't Let the Loudest Define Democracy
Colm Brophy speaks in Parliament about representation, social media influence and the real-life consequences of protests. He warns that focusing only on those who shout loudest risks silencing ordinary people, especially older citizens who have no online voice.
Main point: Colm Brophy argues that elected representatives are messengers of all the people, not just those with the biggest megaphones. He calls on colleagues to listen broadly and not tailor policy or political stunts to the loudest online voices.
Constituent example: Brophy relates a recent meeting with a distraught constituent who spent five hours to attend a hospital appointment that could not proceed because medical staff could not get to the hospital. He highlights that many older people do not use Instagram or Twitter, and so their experiences go unheard.
Democratic concern: Brophy acknowledges the right to protest and the genuine pain caused by cost pressures, but insists there must be a balance. He warns against choosing sides based on volume rather than representation, arguing that democracy should protect all citizens equally.
Consequences: The speech stresses the need for parliamentarians to weigh competing rights carefully and to ensure their actions do not destroy other people's lives. Brophy urges colleagues to represent the full spectrum of the electorate, not only those with access to social media.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
In two minutes it's very difficult to make a substantive contribution on such an important topic but I just want to make, I think, and focus on one particular aspect. That we are all, as someone referred to, messengers of the people. We all need to listen to everybody. And I think, and there's a real problem with the way in which the opposition, particularly in this Parliament, behave, in that they listen, I believe, to the people who shout loudest to this. That's not the entire population of our country. There's a whole section of our world, our society, of people, ordinary people, particularly older people, senior citizens, people who last week couldn't get medical appointments. One woman met me at the weekend absolutely distraught over the fact, having spent five hours to get to her appointment, the consultant and doctors couldn't get to the hospital so they couldn't provide it. But no one, she literally said to me, I don't know how to post on Instagram, I don't know how to go on Twitter, so no one will hear my side of the story. Now I fully recognise that people have a right to protest. And I fully recognise that people feel real pain over the costs. But you don't have the right to destroy someone else's life. There has to be a balance. And we as parliamentarians don't have the right to clearly decide to pick one side because it shouts loudest and you think you can get a political stunt out of it. That's not what democracy should be about. That's not representing all the people. That's choosing very selectively to represent. And unfortunately for us, it's the worst of representation because it's actually saying that if you have access to social media, if you can shout the loudest, then I'll weigh in behind you, but I won't listen to what's happening to other ordinary people.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
